


Find Your Way To Me

by justme133



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: AU Story, F/F, F/M, Fighting, M/M, Slight Abuse?, gang life, non-magic au, teens are dramatic, terrorizing the streets as one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-01-07 06:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18405068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justme133/pseuds/justme133
Summary: Perhaps it was fate that had brought the four of them together, or perhaps it was just coincidence. Either way, four misfits who didn’t want anything or anyone in their lives, found their way to each other.





	1. Chapter 1

Perhaps it was fate that had brought the four of them together, or perhaps it was just coincidence. Either way, four misfits who didn’t want anything or anyone in their lives, found their way to each other.

 

…

 

Mal had started it, she supposed. Her mother had wanted her to follow in her footsteps, to climb the social ladder and be the best of the best, the one invited to all of the parties and social events,  perfect and poised and Mal  _ hated  _ it. She was 17, and tired of living the way her mother expected her to. So, she had found a beat up duffle bag in the back of her mom’s closet, and had put anything that had meant something to her into it, and ran. She didn’t regret not looking back.

 

…

 

Evie was supposed to be a model - her mother had raised her and conditioned her to be the prettiest, thinnest, harshest model out there. No one would be able to compare to her beauty and grace - except her mother of course; no one was better than the once-pristine model that had terrorized the walkways. But Evie didn’t have her mother’s dark heart, who just wanted to crush the competition - she knew there was more out there for her than just a pretty face. Her mother had just told her she would be shipping her off Paris to work herself to the bone, at 17 no less, and Evie was tired of it. Grabbing her most prized possessions in a small bag, she left her home behind.

 

…

 

Jay had been quite content in his life for the first 17 years of his life. Well, as content as he could be he supposed. His dad, this crazy fat store owner who was spreading his franchise over the nation, had tried to groom him to become the next owner, the next founder, the holder of all the keys to the stores. He was fine with that, people came to his dad for a variety of things, he could live with that. He worked out, he lived his life. No complaints. Until his dad married a woman he had just met. Suddenly, Jay had no earning into the store, into the company, and was essentially thrown to the curb. No skin off his back. Stealing a worn bag from the bitch, he stuffed as much stuff from the store’s shelves as he could, and walked out.

 

…

 

Carlos had been on the verge of turning 16 when he decided to run away from home. His mother, a once famous designer who had created the trend of wearing fur on your clothes as a sign of status, had spiraled into a world of alcoholism and drugs. Carlos had been trying to get her to awaken for a meeting - after having passed out on the couch the night before - when she had swung a hand up and wrapped it around his throat, yelling at him and telling him that she would rather see him die than take over her life. She was still completely wasted, but it was then, while Carlos struggled to bring air into his lungs, that he knew he had to leave before she killed him. Taking a few of her necklaces to sell for money, he fled on the night he officially  turned 16.

 

….

 

Ironically, Carlos had found what would soon become their hideout, first. He had found a pawn shop and sold his mother’s necklaces, getting a good amount of cash, when it began to get dark. Shoving the money into his wallet, he had left the store in hopes of finding somewhere to sleep for the night. He had hurried across the street and into an alley, looking for anything in the fading light that could resemble some shelter for the night. He had tripped, his boot coming untied in his hurry, when he saw it. Behind a particularly nasty dumpster, which he was able to scoot over just enough to see, was a small boarded up window. 

 

Now, Carlos wasn’t particularly strong - having always been on the smaller side of life, but he was smart. Finding the biggest rock he could, he hacked at the rotting boards and broke the glass. With a deep breath, he slid inside. He found himself in an empty basement of sorts - there was a staircase that led to a door, but it was boarded shut and from the three inches of dust that covered everything, no one would be using it anytime soon. Sitting on a sagging box, Carlos thought about what he could do now.

 

…

 

Evie was running, her bag clamped in her hand as she huffed - she should’ve left home in much more sensible shoes, these heeled boots would kill her if the guys that had chased her didn’t do it first. She looked petite and soft, she knew that, but she thought she could maybe take these guys - she had practiced fencing and karate with her mother’s assistant, but right now they had knives and she did not. 

 

She blessed the stars when a large truck passed between them. She darted down an alley, hoping to lose them. It was a dead end, of course it was, and she looked around, trying to find something to fight with. She saw an edge of broken glass, and was about to grab it, when she saw the small broken window. With a deep breath, she wiggled in, her clothes catching on the jagged pieces. Ungracefully, she landed with a thud. She tried to catch her own breath, when she heard a stuttered inhale of someone else breathing. Glancing up, blue eyes met brown.

 

….

 

Mal came next, fierce and determined as she strode through the town. It was dark, and with her pale blonde hair hidden underneath a dark purple hood, she made the lowlifes who stayed out this late take a second look at her. She was fucking terrified, but she had been taught by her mother how to command respect, and she planned to use that to her advantage.

 

She had stopped at a bar, trying to see if she could crash in their back room for the night, when she felt like she was being watched. Barely turning her head, she saw two of mother’s ‘friends’ - also known as bodyguards or maybe even thugs, watching her. Shit. With a twitchy smile at the bartender, she turned on her heel and strode out of the bar. Once outside, she hurriedly made her way away from them. She stopped in a smelly alley to catch her breath when she heard soft voices. Glancing around, she saw the broken window. Looking back, she saw them looking for her. With a grimace, she pushed her duffel through, and, with one more glance, followed.

 

….

 

Jay joined them by pure chance - he had been attempting to bum a cigarette off of an actual bum, when he heard a soft quiet laugh. A definite girly laugh. Intrigued, he followed the sound. Finding the broken window, he threw his bag inside, glad when he heard a surprised yelp come from inside. With a chuckle, and perhaps for dramatic effect, he dived headfirst into the window, landing in a rolling crouch. Standing up and dusting himself off, he gave them his most charming grin.

 

“What I miss?”

 

….

 

“You guys need to get out, I was here first!”

 

“Be quiet kid, the adults are talking.”

 

“Hey he has a point, he was here first.”

 

“Oh Princess, don’t defend him, he should run back home to his mommy.”

 

“My mom’s a fucking psychopath, thank you very much. I’m staying right here.”

 

“That’s cool, I don’t give a shit. I’m tired.”

 

“Then you go home!”

 

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a big fat no.”

 

“This place is big enough, we could share the space until the morning when all of you need to go home.”

 

“I’m not going home.”

 

“I’d rather die.”

 

“I can’t go back to that hellhole.” 

 

The four of them met eyes then, and seemed to come to some sort of understanding. With small nods to each other, a shaky bond was formed.

 

…

 

The next day, after a dusty night’s sleep, they worked together to get the dumpster over enough that it covered the window, but didn’t hinder them from leaving - except for Jay, who was broader than everyone else. He just smirked and said he could handle it. After that was done, they sat on the floor, surveying their surroundings.

 

The room was big, big enough for the four of them to stay in comfortably. There were two small windows on the wall opposite of their escape window, which let in enough light for them to see with; there was the boarded up door, and a light switch that didn’t work. There were some boxes, mostly containing old newspapers and some water damaged books. Besides that, there was nothing in this room but the four of them, and the dust motes.

 

“We need some chairs-”

 

“A table would be nice-”

 

“Food-”

 

“Something to sleep on-” 

 

“I guess we need to start looking for stuff.” They made to get up, about to head out - between the four of them, they had taken a good amount of money from their families. They could take care of themselves for a while.

 

“Wait!” Evie cried, a glint in her blue eyes. “If I’m not going back home, then there’s something I’ve  _ always _ wanted to do first.”

 

…

 

Four hours later, three out of four teens were almost unrecognizable. Mal, where her hair had been long and pale blonde like her mother’s, was now a deep violet, trimmed and flared out by her shoulders; Evie, who had always had deep black hair, now sported dark electric blue hair, curled and wavy around her heart shaped face; Carlos, who hadn’t been brought into this willingly but found himself under Evie’s hands anyway, had started out with dark brown curls- now had strikingly blond to the point that it was practically white soft curls, but still dark at the roots, making the freckles on his face stand out. Jay had threatened Evie as she approached him, ready to change his hair too; finally, she won by convincing him to do one neon red stripe throughout his dark, long brown hair. 

 

Once they were deemed appropriate enough, they made their way out of their hideout and into the town, ready to get what they needed.

 

…

 

In a week, a group of teens now dubbed The Isle Gang, were causing chaos all over the small town; no one knew who they were, just that they were a led by a smartass girl with purple hair.

 

…

 

Carlos was a good distraction. People thought, since he was small and had such big eyes and all of those freckles, that he was adorable. If he played the part right, people would stop and talk to him, long enough for Jay to swoop in and steal their wallets, their money, their jewelry. Jay was sneaky, and that was an attribute that he honed quickly over time - if Carlos could stop them, Jay could take them.

 

Evie was born with the gift of talking - with her pretty smile and soft voice, she could get many shop owners to stop and pay attention to her, leaving Mal to take what they needed. They had found a good balance in their skills, and the two became partners as they tormented people.

 

It had gotten to the point that if people saw them coming, it was easier to just hand over their goods and money instead of being mind-fucked by the pretty boy and the seductive girl while the red snake and the purple dragon broke into their homes, their cars, and stole their valuables. 

 

…

 

One group of drunk men had tried to rough up Evie one night. She had just smirked as they approached her, and then she lashed out, one hand connected with one’s throat, one leg flying to a groin, and one elbow to the head. 

 

No one tried to touch her after that.

 

....

 

Mal had stopped in the bar where she knew the men who worked for her mother would be. She approached them, hardened and full of purple fire. She slammed one guy’s face into the wall, breaking his nose.

 

Her mother got the message.

 

….

 

Jay had gone back to his father’s store, seeing the wife pregnant. He had heard the claims that their son would soon rule the franchise. He snuck in, easily picking the lock. He trashed the store, ripping anything and everything of value from the walls, smashing and breaking it. When the wife stepped out to see what the noise was, all that was left was a spray painted message, and a dead snake nailed to the wall.

 

The Red Snake Strikes To Kill. 

….

 

Carlos had been approached by a man in a suit - he looked like an easy target, so Carlos let him talk him up. When he suggested that Carlos come with him, he didn’t cave so easily. Then he suggested they go pick up the other whore from the gang, and then Carlos saw red as he yanked the guy by his pressed shirt. He spit in his face before he knee’d him in the groin, making him fall to the ground. Carlos kicked him once more.

 

No one tried to proposition him -or the gang- again.

 

…

 

They lived this way for months, forming a bond stronger than they had ever had with their families. They tormented people every day, and were soon hated and feared by most of the town. Now, they were ready to tackle their biggest heist yet.

 

…

 

“Okay,” Mal said as the four of them stared at the map spread out of their rickety card table they had snatched from someone’s backyard. “This is it. If we can get into this house, and get their shit, we’ll be set for a while. No more of this petty tormenting people.”

 

“Oh but the petty tormenting is so much fun,” Evie said, grinning with a small bounce on her heels.

 

“It is Princess, but this is the  _ mayor’s _ house. And from what we’ve gathered-”

 

“Those suckers are going to be gone for a fucking week. We can get in, get out, hell we can take our fucking time and still get all of their shit.”

 

“Plus there is a rumor that they have an  _ actual _ safe somewhere in their house. Who knows what rich assholes like that keep in a safe?” The four of them smiled, thinking of what they could do with anything they could grab from that house. With matching smirks, they began plotting.

 

…

 

It wasn’t hard for the four of them to blend into the dark of the night - Evie was a whiz with clothes, and with a slightly broken sewing machine and a stolen generator, she was able to make them clothes that really made them even more gang-like than they had been.

 

Mal was dressed in ripped jeans that Evie had stained purple for her, with a gray and purple long sleeve top, and, what had become her trademark - a purple leather jacket with a green and purple and gold dragon stitched into the back. 

 

Evie herself wore distressed black and blue leggings, a long ripped blood red top, and a blue leather jacket, which her icon on it - a gold and red crown for who they had dubbed ‘princess’.

 

Jay wasn’t hard to dress - with his attitude, he believed he made everything look good, and Evie used that to her advantage when designing his outfit. Matching the red streak in his hair, she had modeled his clothes in red and gold hues, ending in black jeans, a red shirt with the sleeves cut off, with a gold sleeveless vest to finish it off -of course, he had a large red snake etched into the back.

 

And Carlos, well, Evie knew who his mother was, and let him help design his own outfit. This ended in white and black shorts, a black t-shirt, and a red and black leather jacket - the back of his jacket held two crossed bones, one in white and one in black. When they had asked him why he had chosen that, he had just given them his own half-upturned smirk. “Because everyone sees me as small and innocent until I double cross them.” They had all laughed then, and now, decked out in their own attire, they blended into the night.

 

…

 

“Who the fuck names their home ‘Beast Manor’?” Mal scoffed as they read the rolling script on the gate of the building in front of them. It was a manor, easily. It was large, made out of white brick and gold trim and who needed a yard this big? “Talk about excessive.”

 

“Or overcompensating for something.” The two girls laughed now, while the two boys just groaned. 

 

“I say we let their horses go,” Jay said as he spied the stables behind the house. “Seriously. Fucking horses. Who do these people think they are? Fucking royalty?”

 

“There’s no cars, and none in the garage,” Carlos called as he jogged around the perimeter gate. “They’re gone.”

 

“And they just left it all unguarded? It can’t be this easy,” Evie said, eyes scanning the gate. 

 

“My bet is that there’s an alarm system inside the actual house. Probably one by the horses too,” Carlos said as he hooked one foot into the side of the gate. “I can hack it, but we need to get inside.” The others followed him, easily scaling the gate and landing on the other side, into the pristine green grass. No bells and whistles went off, so they made their way to the front door.

 

“I got this,” Jay said, pulling a lockpick kit he had swiped from the pawn shop out of his pocket. In less than two minutes, he had the door open.

 

They waited, holding their breath as they listened for some type of alarm. 

 

Nothing.

 

“Is this a trap?” Evie whispered as they slowly entered the house, quietly closing the door behind them.

 

“I don’t think so,” Mal whispered back, striding down the long carpeted hallway. “I think these idiots are just that trusting. Motherfuckers.”

 

“I say we get looting then,” Jay said, taking the bag off his shoulder - they all had one similar to his; they planned on getting as much stuff as they could. “Man, this is some fucking house.” The four of them looked around, slipping various things into their bags - the house was huge, a large golden staircase dominating the portion of the entry hallway. To the left, a large living room with one whole wall dominated by a TV; to the right, a sitting room with three large bookcases, overfilling with books; beyond that, a kitchen done in deep blues and golds could be seen.

 

“Ugh, this color scheme,” Evie grimaced, picking up some small china figures and slipping them into her pocket. “Who would do this to their home?”

 

“Rich people who don’t give a shit,” Mal said, picking up a large heavy golden vase. “I seriously think these guys think they’re fucking royalty. How much gold does one person need in their life?” 

 

The four of them stopped as they heard a very muffled thud. The house was full with wall to wall plush carpet, and it had muffled most of their footsteps. They slowly formed a small circle as they waited.

 

Another muffled thud. And another. Footsteps.

 

“We should run,” Carlos whispered, but Mal shook her head.

 

“No. We aren’t cowards.” They tensed as they waited, Mal pulling a knife out of her pocket; Evie slipped a long sharp skewer from inside her jacket; Carlos withdrew a slingshot and small iron pellets he had procured over time; Jay just cracked his knuckles. They waited, tensed and ready for a fight.

 

“Hello?” A voice called out, followed by another soft thud. One more, and they found themselves face to face with a boy.

 

He couldn’t be much older than them, if even that. With his soft dark honey blonde hair that swept over his forehead and curled at the nape of his neck, and with his green eyes that didn’t hold any fear as he surveyed them, and in his pristine blue button down shirt tucked into khakis, he was everything  _ they _ were not.

 

“You’re the Isle Gang,” he said softly, raising his hands up in defense. “Holy crap. I mean. Wow. You’re…. You guys are  _ them _ .” His eyes were wide, but there was still no fear. There was almost a sense of  _ admiration _ in them as he looked at them.

 

“Who the fuck are you?” Mal asked, her knife gripped tightly in her hand. She could see Evie raise the skewer next to her, out and poised like a sword; she felt Carlos shift behind her, raising his slingshot and pointing it at the teen, ready to strike; Jay stood behind him, stance ready to fight. “Talk. Now.” 

 

“I’m Ben,” he said in a rush of breath. “My dad is the mayor.”

 

“Why the hell aren’t you with them right now?” Mal took a step closer, eyes hard as she raised her knife towards him - it was a hunting knife, jagged and serrated and she had just sharpened it that morning. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

 

“Well, I live here,” he pointed out, taking a step back as Mal hissed at him. “And I didn’t want to join them. It’s always business with them. My family has been mayor for four generations, and my dad expects me to run for mayor when I am old enough, because God forbid someone else rules this town.” He took a deep breath and gave them a shaky grin. “You know, you don’t have to steal from me. You guys are welcome to stay with here with me while my parents are gone. Welcome to anything we have. Food, clothes, hot water, I mean, anything.” He flinched as a small iron pellet shattered the lamp behind him.

 

“We don’t need your pity, or your charity,” Carlos said, pulling back the slingshot again, his expression fierce.

 

“Wow,” Ben breathed, his heart pounding in his chest. “You’re stunning.” Carlos rolled his eyes, feeling his cheeks tint slightly in blush - he had been called all kinds of pretty words before, but something in the way this kid said it just pulled at his heart, if only for a moment. “Um,” Ben stammered, going back to look at the purple-haired girl, knowing she was the leader. “You’re the Purple Dragon.” Mal gave a jerk of her head, knife pointed at him still. “You’re who they call the Red Snake,” he said, now looking at Jay, who just flipped him off. “You… you’re the beauty who tries to seduce everyone?” he mumbled to Evie, who grimaced at him. “And that makes you…” he said, meeting Carlos’ dark eyes, “the pretty boy.”

 

“Just call me Cross,” Carlos said, pointing his slingshot at one of Ben’s eyes, “and she’s The Blue Royal.” Ben nodded, understanding he had messed up by calling them what everyone else did. “Please tell me we can rough him up now,” Carlos said, meeting Mal’s eyes. Mal squinted, and he hated that look because that meant she was thinking. “Oh no, now what?” He lowered his weapon, making Evie lower hers and Jay relax. It was interesting to Ben to watch how they all seemed to move as one. 

 

Mal faced him then, purple hair whirling around her face like flames.

 

“Here’s what we’ll do. We  _ will _ stay here, for the week,” Mal said, making Ben sigh in relief. “But not in your charity. You are officially the first hostage of the Isle Gang. Congratulations.”

 

….


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New friends means new hostages.

 

Ben was sitting at the tall counter in his kitchen, watching the four teens move. He believed that they wouldn’t hurt him, but he wasn’t going to fight them. Everyone had heard about the gang of teens that tore through the town like it was paper. They were feared, especially in his private school, where rumors spread like disease, poisoning people’s minds. 

 

Ben was not one of those people - he believed there must be more to the gang than what everyone saw; he wasn’t the only one. He had a small group, a club of sorts, that admired the passion that these teens obviously had. There was only four of them, which seemed fitting that there were four of the gang.

 

His eyes flickered to the one they called Purple Dragon - she was tense as she pawed through the utensil drawer, taking all the silver silverware and slipping it into her bag. She would rob him blind, he didn’t doubt this, but he didn’t think she would hurt him. Or, he hoped so at least. 

 

The Red Snake, that teen with the long hair and deep tan skin, was digging through the fridge, making what looked like a giant sandwich; it looked to have almost some of everything that had once been in the fridge.

 

The blue-haired girl, who they had called The Blue Royal, was inspecting a large china cabinet, filled with decorative plates, all with a different design. She seemed to study them seriously, full red lips pouted and blue eyes serious.

 

And then there was the boy. Ben hadn’t meant to call him stunning, but he really was. He said to call him Cross, and he figured that must be because of the crossed bones on his jacket. Ben had heard of the younger boy - he was well known as someone who could make you do anything he wanted when he turned those eyes on you, making you an easy target. Ben could see what they meant. The boy in question was munching on a bag of chips as he surveyed everyone else.

 

“You know,” Ben said, making four pairs of hostile eyes land on him. “You guys are legends in my school. I mean, terrifying legends, but legends. But me, and some of my friends, well, we don’t… we aren’t scared of you.”

 

“You really should be,” Evie hummed, elbowing the glass of the china cabinet, watching it shatter and daintily grabbing a plate to inspect it closer. “Only people who are stupid don’t know fear. And you don’t look stupid.”

 

“I don’t know Blue, he looks pretty stupid to me,” Carlos muttered, crunching into another chip as he raised an eyebrow at Ben. When Carlos smirked, Ben had to look away as he felt himself squirm in his seat.

 

“I’m not stupid. I just believe there is good in everyone. And well, I honestly find what the four of you do quite interesting.”

 

“Living on the streets and beating people up is interesting to you dude?” Jay scoffed, setting down his sky-high sandwich. “You need a fucking hobby man.”

 

“Well,” Ben said slowly, his heart pounding as he felt eyes burn into the side of his head. “Everyone at my school knows of the Isle Gang. And that you guys are incredibly dangerous and fearsome and not to be messed with and -”

 

“What’s your point Golden Boy?” Mal asked, striding to stand in front of him, hands braced on the table as she leaned down to look him straight in the eyes. 

 

“And I’m not scared of you.” Mal smirked, leaning closer so she could whisper in his face.

 

“You might want to watch your mouth Golden Boy. I always hear the first kill should be special, and I would hate to waste it on you.” Ben felt his mouth go dry as she moved away from him, going back to the drawers to take more things.

 

It took him a moment, but he gathered himself from  her threat and took a deep breath. Maybe he had to play this diplomatically.

 

“As i’m sure the four of you have noticed, I have not called the cops on you for breaking into my home.” He hissed as a small metal ball was launched into his arm. Carlos was standing up, slingshot poised for another shot, his eyes narrowed as he focused on the spot between Ben’s eyes.

 

“Don’t you fucking dare threaten us.”

 

“I wasn’t,” he said, rubbing the spot on his arm as he tried to not think how hot someone could make holding a slingshot look. “I was just going to say, that my friends, who also believe there must be some good in the  four of you, would probably like to meet you.”

 

“More rich kids?” Jay groaned, but Mal smirked. 

 

“More hostages,” she corrected him, standing behind Ben and placing her knife against his neck, yanking his head back so he looked at her. “I'm listening.”

 

“Okay, now  _ that  _ is a hot look on you,” Carlos said, sitting down on the counter and watching them. Ben flushed, which made Carlos laugh as he stared at him.

 

“There’s only four of us, so a hostage for all of you. Yes, more rich kids. But… if I call them, promise me you won’t hurt them.”

 

“Now why would we do something stupid like that? I will make you this deal though. We won’t  _ kill _ them. Call them. Do not say why you are calling them. Just tell them they must come over, right now. Make an excuse for them to stay. If you don’t listen to us, I will start stabbing.”

 

“Leave his neck for me,” Carlos quipped, head tilted as Ben tried to look at him. He did that little half smirk again, and Ben had to stifle a groan as his face turned pink. Mal let go of him and he took a deep breath. He shakingly took his phone out of his pocket, quickly sending a group chat.

 

In minutes, his three friends had agreed to come over and keep him company for the week his parents were gone.

 

“Oh, now the real fun begins,” Mal said, laughing, which made the other three laugh with her.

 

What had Ben gotten himself into?

 

…

 

His friends let themselves in, taking in the mess of the hallway. Slowly, the three of them entered the living room, seeing Ben situated on the couch, and behind him….

 

“Oh my gosh,” the girl in front whispered before her hands were yanked behind her back and something sharp was held against her neck. From the sounds of a scuffle behind her, the other two of them must be in the same predicament. “The Isle Gang?” she whispered, a husky laugh in her ear confirming her question. “Ben?” Ben looked up at the girl who stood behind him, knife poised over his head.

 

“Was this all necessary?” he asked the purple-haired girl, who glared at him and just lifted her knife. The three teens were shoved onto the couch next to Ben, now seeing who their captors were.

 

The girl who had been in front, a tall girl with her deep black hair pulled back in a braid down her back, found herself face to face with a tall, muscular tan teen, who she knew was called the snake, or something like that; next to her was a slight girl, her dainty features twisted in fear as she stared into the eyes of the white-haired teen; and on the end was a bookish looking boy with wide squaire glasses and ruffled hair, facing off with the blue haired girl who looked deadly. 

 

“Isle Gang, meet my friends. Lonnie, Jane, and Doug. Guys, this is the Isle Gang. We are now their hostages,” Ben said, making his friends glare at him. 

 

“You called us over here to be hostages with you? Are you  crazy?!” Lonnie cried, launching herself at Ben, who just deflected her blows.

 

“Oh, I like her, lets keep her,” Jay said, smirking at her as she glared at him, moving away from Ben. “And your friend here, the Golden Boy, isn’t crazy. He’s stupid as fuck.” 

 

“I am not. I know you guys are just as curious as I am about them, and when would we get another chance to meet them like this?”

 

“They’re much more.. Intimidating, in person,” Jane, the small girl in the middle, said, looking up into the hostile eyes of Carlos. Mal leaned down to where her face was right next to hers.

 

“Oh, is the Pixie scared?” she whispered, making Jane whip around to look at her, their noses almost touching. “Boo.” Jane let out a squeal and leaned against Doug, who just stared at Evie.

 

“Wow. You… wow,” he said, making Evie smile as she leaned towards him, placing a finger under his chin and tilting his face up to look at her.

 

“Aw you guys, I think I have a fan.” Doug gulped as she surveyed him. She leaned closer, and his face flushed as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Can I keep this one?” she asked, looking at Mal, who just huffed in annoyance.

 

“So now what?” Lonnie asked, turning to look at the girl who stood behind the couch. “Are you going to kill us? Because I know how to fence, and I play sports, I will fight you. I'm not scared.”

 

“Oooh, you can fence?” Evie asked, turning her attention to Lonnie, who just nodded. Evie grinned and pulled a fire poker from the fireplace. She inspected it before she handed it to the girl. “I haven't had someone to fight with in forever. No offense to my partners.” Evie raised her skewer. “Come on Pretty in Pink, let's dance.”

 

As the two began to dodge each other, Doug just felt his jaw drop as he watched the grace of Evie has she fought against Lonnie. 

 

“Hey Dopey, shut your mouth, don't want to be catching flies over there do you?” Jay called, making Doug snap his mouth close as he heard a soft laugh drift towards him.

 

Glancing up, Evie grinned at him before she struck at Lonnie again.

 

…

 

Some type of agreement was made that night. It was silent, and only spoken through eye contact, but something transpired between the eight teens, making something shift in their dynamic.

 

…

 

Sometime during the night, they had all fallen asleep - Mal and Evie dominating the couch, Carlos in a large armchair, and Jay passed out on the coffee table. The four rich kids had fallen asleep on the floor, exhausted from the mind games that the gang always seemed to be playing. 

 

Ben awoke first - he had always been an early riser - and just looked at them for a moment. What could have happened to these four teens to make them so hostile, so angry? He wanted to help them, get to know them, befriend them.

 

And he would be lying to himself if he said that the white-haired boy called Cross didn't interest him the most.

 

Shaking any thoughts like that out of his mind, he made his way upstairs to change clothes. Once he was dressed, he surveyed the large amount of clothes that hung in his closet. He wondered if the Isle Gang would want a clean change of clothes? He hummed in thought for a moment before he turned around, only to stumble as he saw he was being watched.

 

“Cross. I didn't, I didn't know you were there.” Carlos smirked and chuckled at the expression on his face.

 

“Kind of the point Golden Boy,” he said, turning to look at the room, looking at the large bed, large TV, large chair and many bookcases. “Sure live a cushy life don't you? Someone like you wouldn't last a day on the streets.”

 

“Someone like me?” Ben was insulted - he could handle himself in a fight he was sure. But then in a swift movement, he was pinned between the wall and body of the teen in front of him. He felt his face burn as Carlos pressed closer, their bodies fitting against each other.

 

“You're too good, Golden Boy. You think you could rough someone up for the way they treat you, or if they insult your family? Think you could steal to keep yourself alive, learn to not care about anyone but yourself, do what was needed to make sure you didn't end up dead in someone's house?” Ben was silent as Carlos looked into his eyes, all hard edges and black walls as he spoke. “Don’t pretend to care about us. Nobody cares about us,” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to Ben’s, who was oh so tempted to lean forward. “One wrong move, and you and your friends are doomed. I'm not warning you again.” Carlos let go then, taking a step back to put space between the two of them. Ben had to clear his head of all thoughts before he could finally focus on what he wanted to say.

 

“I don't know what caused all of you to be like this,” he started, making Carlos snort in annoyance as he crossed his arms, “but I want to understand. I want to show you guys that someone does care.” Carlos just shook his head and walked out of the room, making Ben hurry to follow.

 

…

 

Mal was digging through the fridge, looking for something to snack on, when she heard a small cough behind her. She turned slowly, eyes narrowed.

 

“If you're hungry,” Jane said, twisting her fingers in front of her. “I make a mean omelette.” Mal surveyed her and nodded, coming to sit down on the counter, pulling her knife out and twirling it between her fingers.

 

“Alright Pixie, let's see what you can do.”

 

…

 

Jane ended up making breakfast for all of them, seeming to have woken up for the smell of food that was floating in the air. She was still skittish, but when the tall teen called Snake slapped her shoulder and told her the food was good, she felt her chest loosen up a little bit. If she stayed on their good sides, then she would be fine. They all would.

 

Ben tried to convince them to relax, but those who had been dubbed ‘The Rich Kids’ were still tense.

 

“They’re just teenagers, like us,” he said as they watched the four rough-looking teens dig through his parents closet. “They just had it a little worse than us, is all. We never believed the rumors before, why are you guys being weird now?”

 

“Because they’re scary,” Jane said simply, glancing at them before she faced Ben. “I mean, I’m all for supporting people in need, you know that. But…”

 

“Ben’s right,” Lonnie said, stepping closer to her friends as she lowered her voice. “We just need to get to know them. Do we even know what their real names are?” The other three shook their heads. “I say we try to get them to talk to us, let their walls down. Maybe they just need friends.”

 

They looked up as the two boys in the gang began to wrestle over something - Ben was going to stop them, but then he realized they were laughing as they fought. They stopped though when the purple-haired girl stamped down her foot, drawing  everyone’s attention to her.

 

“Yo Golden Boy.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Where’s your shower?”

 

…

 

The girls showered first, Mal in the large enclosed shower, Evie in the large bathtub that she used a whole bottle of bubbles on.

 

“Mmm, I forgot how nice a good bubble bath could feel,” she said, hearing a laugh come from the shower.

 

“Don’t get used to it Princess. Few days, we go back home.”

 

“Mhm. With all the money we make from their stuff, I saw we install a hot tub.”

 

“Now that is an idea I can get behind.” The two laughed as they used up most of the hot water - they weren’t complete bitches, leaving some for the guys.

 

…

 

Jay had beat Carlos into the  shower, laughing in his face. Carlos just flipped him off and snuck down to the basement, finding the hot water heater. With a turn of the knob, he heard Jay scream out a stream of cuss words that made the four rich kids blanche. 


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise between the isle Gang & the Rich Kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, finally! I hope it lives up to chapters 1 & 2.

  
  


…

 

Once they were all showered and dressed in some clothes swiped from the closets - with some moderations of course, they faced the four rich kids. Mal was in a black dress she had found, ripping one side of the skirt  and tearing the front, essentially making it from a little black dress to battle clothes. Evie had found a dark blue dress with long sleeves, which she easily snipped into a crossing line pattern, trimming the hem to make it more asymmetrical. Jay had found a yellow t-shirt, ripping the sleeves off, and a pair of dark blue jeans that he ripped holes in the knees. Carlos had procured a plain white shirt, which he had splattered with some red nail polish he had found in the bathroom. He had found a pair of black slacks, which he also splattered red and cut to the knees. 

 

Now, they looked at the pristinely dressed rich kids, waiting for something it seemed. Lonnie was in white pants and a pink top, Jane in a soft blue sundress and pink sweater, Doug in a shirt-and-vest combo and khakis, and Ben in another blue button down and, this time, yellow-gold pants.

 

“So what do rich kids do for fun?” Mal asked, which made Lonnie fume. She was tired of being talked down to by people her own age! Just because they acted all tough didn’t mean she could be bossed around.

 

“You know we have names, right?” she countered, to which Mal just laughed.

 

“Oh forgive me, Pretty in Pink, but I don’t give a shit, okay? The four of you belong to us right now. And if you argue with me again, oh you will regret it. Understood?” Lonnie was so strong headed, and Ben tried to stop her, a hand on her arm, but she just pulled away from him and glared at Mal.

 

“I bet you’re all talk.” Now all four of them laughed as Mal walked towards her, pulling her knife out as she nodded.

 

“All talk huh? Let’s see about that, yeah?” She grabbed Lonnie’s arm, yanking the tall girl towards her and bringing the knife up to her cheek. “So pretty, so flawless. I do hate to rough up someone like you.” She pressed the tip of the knife against her cheek, making Lonnie whimper a bit as she met maniacal green eyes. Maybe antagonizing the girl with the knife was a bad idea after all. She was about to swing down, effectively slicing her face, when a small hand was on her arm, stopping her.

 

“Please don’t.” Mal looked at Jane, eyebrow raised. “Lonnie is just scared, and when she gets scared, she tries to act tough. Please don’t hurt her.” Mal looked back at Lonnie, who let out a shaky breath as she was thrown backwards away from Mal. “Thank you.” Jane was braver than them all apparently as she gave Mal’s arm a soft squeeze. Mal pulled away from her and scowled.

 

“Touch me again, and I will slice that dainty hand off.”

 

…

 

After the fiasco between Mal, Lonnie, and Jane, the eight of them broke off in groups, almost without much thought. Jay found himself outside with Lonnie as she fed the horses.

 

“Who the fuck keeps horses for pets?”

 

“They’re his mom’s,” she said as she poured oats into a bucket. “She had some growing up, and then when they got married, she wanted to relive that part of her childhood I guess.”

 

“That’s fucking stupid.”

 

“Do you have to curse in every sentence?”

 

“Are you too much a fucking priss to say a bad word? I bet I could get you screaming some  _ really _ bad words.” Lonnie’s face flushed pink, but she didn’t take the bait. “It was interesting watching you fight Dragon like that. It was impressive.”

 

“Well thank you. I think.”

 

“If you ever get tired of being a fucking priss, you could almost be one of us.” Lonnie watched him as he reached out a hand, stroking down the muzzle of one of the horses. 

 

“Snake?” He grunted, acknowledging her. “What's your real name?” Her voice was soft, and it made all of Jay's muscles tense; he looked at her now before he shook his head. 

 

“Go fuck off. Don't pretend to fucking care. We all know people like you don't.”

 

_ People like me? _

 

…

Carlos and Evie found themselves with Ben and Doug, looking through the stuff Ben had in the attic.

 

“Ooh,” Evie said, pulling out a box and finding a dainty gold chain with a large red gem hanging from it. “C, look at this,” she said, showing it to Carlos, who nodded.

 

“Nice. Its fake though.”

 

“Of course it is,” she said, slipping the necklace on, “but it's perfect for me.”

 

“Never gonna change are you?” Carlos asked, making the two of them laugh. Ben and Doug just watched, surveying them as they looked through things sitting on some boxes against the far wall. Doug had easily fallen in-love-at-first-sight with the blue-haired girl, and Ben didn't deny he was attracted to the white-haired teen.

 

“Hmm. I bet you could have fun with him,” Evie said, tilting her head at Ben, who blushed- he had heard her words. Carlos laughed, smirking at Ben, whose face just got redder.

 

“Looks like you could too,” he says, tilting his chin towards Doug, who begins to stammer. Evie giggles and walks to him, stroking his face.

 

“He is cute, isn't he?” Carlos hummed as he stood next to Ben, just staring at him. Ben didn’t back down, meeting his green eyes to Carlos’s brown ones in a heated stare. “It’s a shame I’d break him,” Evie said, giving Doug a twisted grin, making him gulp. Carlos glanced at them, finally breaking the staring war he had with Ben. Evie saw him staring, and was about to comment, when she saw the way Ben was staring at Carlos. She hummed softly, thinking, before she gripped Doug’s arm and pulled him with her to the other side of the room. Carlos watched her for a second before he turned to look at Ben.

 

“Cross?” Carlos just stared at him, an eyebrow raised. He saw Ben seem to take a deep breath before he finally opened his mouth. Whatever he wanted to ask was interrupted by Evie throwing Doug against the wall, her arm pressed tight against his throat. Carlos was by her side in an instant, seeing Doug’s face turn pink as she pushed harder against his windpipe.

 

“Blue, stop!” he said, tugging her back, making the bespectacled teen slip down the wall to sit on the floor. Evie stared icily at Doug, who just gulped in air as he stared at her in shock. “What the hell?” Evie flicked her hair over her shoulder, now looking smug.

 

“He asked questions I didn’t like,” is all she said, turning and strolling away, shoulders held high. Carlos chuckled at how easily she could flip between her emotions. He held out a hand to Doug, who was still on the floor. Doug took it shakily and let himself be helped up, only to feel a firm hand push against his chest, knocking his back into the wall again. He met the darkening eyes of Carlos.

 

“Be happy she likes you. That could’ve been much worse.” Carlos let him go then and turned to follow Evie, who had left the attic. Ben stepped in his path though, determined to talk to him.

 

“Cross-”

 

“Not now Golden Boy,” he said, pushing past him and hitting him on the shoulder with his own. “Save your spiel for some other hopeless case. Unless you want to fuck or steal something, don’t bother with me.” Ben stared after him, face flushed as he watched Carlos walk away.

 

…

 

Jane was sitting in the living room, trying to read a book. She was acutely aware of Mal sitting across the room, staring at her. She just kept her head bowed and tried to read some more of the paragraph she had been stuck on for at least an hour.

 

“Hey Pixie.” She jerked her head up, seeing too bright green eyes staring at her. “Why did you do that earlier?” Jane didn’t say anything, feeling her lips tremble a bit. “Why did you stop me from slicing Pretty In Pink’s face? You got a thing for her?” Jane flushed but quickly shook her head no. 

 

“No! No nothing like that. Lonnie, Doug, and Ben are my best friends. I wouldn’t… You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your friends, would you?” Mal snorted and leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper.

 

“Friends get you killed. Associates keep you alive. There’s no friends in our gang.”

 

“I don’t believe you,” Jane said, her hands gripping the edges of her book, which still laid open in her lap. Mal smirked and straightened up, eyes hard.

 

“And why not?”

 

“Just the way you guys act. It’s good to have friends.”

 

“We’re not friends. We have each others backs, but will sell each other out if it means we’re don’t have to go back.”

 

“Go back?” Mal bit her lip and looked away.

 

“Don’t ask questions Pixie. No one likes the answers they get.”

…

  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why not have some fun before you go home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this took forever didn't it?! But here it is, finally! I know where I wanna go with this, lets just hope I can get there.

"Hey Golden Boy." Ben looked up from the book he had been reading while under the watchful eye of Evie, who just cocked her head at him. The two of them were sitting in Ben’s room, the others who-knew-where in the house. The Isle Gang had been holed up in his home going on four days now, and so far they had each seemed to take rotations in keeping him in their sites, his friends not nearly as interesting apparently since they got to be watched in a group.

 

"Yes Blue?" He saw her smirk as he said her nickname so easily, having given up on getting to know their real names for the time being. 

 

"You know we’re leaving before your parents get back. You will never see us again.” Ben frowned but just watched her, waiting to see where she was going with this. She stared at him, eyes surprisingly soft before she let out a sigh, casting her eyes downward. “Are your parents nice?”

 

“They’re the best,” Ben said softly, making her frown. He sounded so sure, so happy talking about his family. She let out a soft laugh and met his eyes again, hers sad. “What were your parents like? Did you know them, or have you always…?”

 

“My dad died when I was young. Very young. He was nice, from what I remember,” she said, tucking her feet under her legs now, fingers idley twisting in her skirt. “My mother… let’s just say, we all have our reasons why we live this way.” 

 

“That’s the most any of you have told me about your lives. I’ve tried asking-”

 

“Yeah, I know you have. Which is why I’m telling you now. You need to  _ stop _ asking.”

 

“Why?” Ben was honestly curious - what was so terrible that they couldn’t talk about it?

 

“We don’t want to remember who we were. We’re all each other has anymore, and even that is not enough. Ma...Dragon would kick us all to the curb in a heartbeat, so would Snake. No hesitation. Cross and I…” she trailed off, eyes hardening. He had caught the catch when she had spoke about the Purple Dragon, wondering if he had been close enough to learning a real name. 

 

“I thought the four of you were friends?”

 

“We’re associates. Means to an end. There’s no room for friends in our lives. No room for romance either,” she said, eyes growing steely as she stared him down. He knew Doug liked her, and she obviously liked him back, but he had a feeling that wasn’t what she was implying - no, she obviously meant his attraction to Cross.

 

“There could be. I mean, my parents would-”

 

“We don’t need your charity,” she said, voice growing hard. “You won’t be doing us any favors. It’s just better to leave us be. We’ll be out of your way soon enough.”

…

That night, Ben was shaken awake, a hand slipping over his mouth to keep him quiet. He blinked a couple of times to clear the sleep out of his eyes, finally recognizing the white-blonde curls and freckles that came into view.

 

“Don’t fucking say a word, just follow me,” he whispered, tugging Ben up and out of the room. He glanced around him, seeing everyone else was asleep - or at least, appearing to be. He had a feeling the rest of the Isle Gang was only faking, since their shoulders were a little too stiff to be sleeping. He felt Cross’s hand slip into his and pull him out through the kitchen and out the backdoor, the two of them stumbling into the backyard. 

 

“Cross?” 

 

“We’re leaving in the morning. In fact, you’re probably going to think that you dreamt this whole thing. It would be better if you did.”

 

“What? You guys don’t have to leave you know, I will help you, I’ll help all of you.”

 

“You’re too good Golden Boy, you know that? It’s gonna get you killed.” Ben swallowed back a shaky breath as Cross stepped closer and pushed Ben against the side of the excessively large house, eyes growing dark. “Too good Golden Boy…. you’re just too fucking good.” 

…

“Kid’s an idiot,” Mal muttered, watching the shadows of the two teens outside. “We need to take our haul, and leave. We’ve been here long enough.”

 

“Yeah, but let him have his fun,” Jay said, glancing at her, eyes slanting a bit. “Like you wouldn’t want to have some fun with-”

 

“Finish that sentence, and I will stab you in the fucking eye.” Jay laughed and nodded back to where Evie was dragging a sleep-tousled Doug off to the attic. “Ugh. Seriously.”

 

“It’s going to be the last fun they have in a while. Let them enjoy themselves. You could too. Hell, I might.” She scoffed and then frowned.

 

“Don’t get attached. We leave these stupid good kids behind in the morning. Then we cash in, and finally live the lives all of us deserved.”

 

…

Lonnie was awake when Jay entered the living room. She shifted a little closer to Jane, who was still asleep.

 

“So what, you guys are killing us all one by one? First Ben, then Doug, and now me? You guys are picking your favorites? Knew Cross had a sweet-spot for Ben. And Ben is stupid enough to get killed by a pretty face. Boy is too trusting,” she muttered, but Jay just smiled.

 

“Not killing.  _ Playing _ .” She flushed at his implication and looked down. “Come on Pretty In Pink. Wanna show me what you can do?” 

…

Mal watched him lead Lonnie off to the stables, scoffing. Seriously, like he thought some prissy pink wannabe was going to put out. But whatever, better he got it out of his system now. It would make leaving even easier now, now that they wouldn’t be held down by petty feelings.

 

Feelings were stupid. Feelings made you  _ weak _ . 

 

“Dragon?” She whirled around, her purple hair flying as she met the sleepy eyes of Jane, who pouted at her. ‘Where’s everyone else?”

 

Fuck, feelings really did make you weak.

…

 

The next morning, Ben, Lonnie, Jane, and Doug woke up to the house empty and trashed.

 

Sitting on the coffee table were four folded up pieces of paper, each marked with a name:

 

_ ‘Golden Boy’ _ __   
_ ‘Dopey’ _ __   
_ ‘Pixie’ _ _   
_ __ ‘Pretty In Pink’

**…**

 

The Isle Gang ran, laughing as they hauled their large bags behind them. 

 

“Rich kids are so easy,” Mal was saying as the other three followed her. “We’re going to be loaded. Say yes to that hottub Princess!”

 

“Oh I can’t wait!” Evie said, following her and grinning. “They were fun though, weren’t they?”

 

“Lots of fun. I hope we fucked them up for good,” Jay said, carrying both his and Carlos’ bags. 

 

“I’m sure we did. Ruined those good kids. Just like us.”

 

“Just like us,” the others chorused  in agreement.

…

Ben stared at the note, unease stirring in his chest. After all this time, and after last night…

 

Cross, the Isle Gang, they were all just gone.

 

He opened the folded up piece of paper and began to read.

 

_ ‘Hey Golden Boy. Don’t forget about me. Hard to believe it, but you showed me that there was still some good out there. Thanks for that, for everything. -- C’ _

 

Ben fucked up, letting those four walk out of his home. He vowed right then, he would find them, and bring them  **_home_ ** .

…

Doug and Jane were sitting on the couch, both reading the notes that were left to them.  How was it that they could have gotten so attached to people, people who didn’t even  _ like _ them or want anything to do with them, in just a matter of weeks?

 

What were they supposed to do now that they weren’t being tormented by the Isle Gang?

 

_ ‘Dopey, you made me your biggest fan. I’m so glad I got the chance to meet you. -- E’ _

 

_ ‘Pixie. I don’t like people. I don’t have friends. But you were cute. Thanks for the fun. -- M’ _

 

Jane and Doug met eyes, both feeling uneasy about the notes.

…

Lonnie sat out by the horses, mad at herself for finding herself  _ missing _ the egotistic jerk, Snake. She looked at the note, the words, the stupid nickname they gave her, rubbing her the wrong way. 

 

She wanted to just rip this apart, not even read it. But no, she did. Because she’s stupid.

 

_ ‘Hey there Pretty In Pink. I’m awesome, I know. You were pretty awesome too. Keep kicking ass. ---J; _

 

_ “ _ That…. Jerk,” she muttered, ripping the paper apart until it was just shreds around her.

…

 

“Man, look at this cash,” Mal said as she counted out the money between the four of them. “Wasn’t even all of the crap we stole, and we’re already set. Tomorrow morning, we go legit shopping and get the shit we need to make this place comfy as fuck.”

 

“Fucking rich kids.”

 

“They were too easy.”

 

“To us!”

 

“To us!!”

…

"You want to  _what?!"_ Ben just looked at his friends with that stupid smile of his.

 

"I want to find the Isle Gang."

....


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Good Kids want to find out more about the Isle Gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this took forever, I know, and ya'll barely get a full chapter here, I'm sorry. I took a break for a bit, but with the new movie coming out soon, I figured I needed to get this ball rolling again. 
> 
> Keep an eye out for more Benlos stories in the future though! I got a whole folder of WiPs just waiting...
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the delay, and enjoy your filler chapter!  
> ...

Ben had his laptop in his lap, Jane, Lonnie, and Doug standing around him.

 

"What are we looking for exactly?" He asked, looking at the scraps of paper they had set out on the coffee table. Four scribbled notes, all signed with one initial.

 

"Well…" Jane started, making the other three teens lock their eyes on her. "They always said they didn't want to remember who they  _ were _ . So maybe…" she trailed off, shrinking in on herself as her words faded off.

 

"Maybe those are their initials? The names they don't want to use?" Doug asked, watching Jane nod hesitantly. 

 

"Maybe names they only call each other," Lonnie contributed to the conversation, all eyes locking on Ben, who nodded now.

 

"There's something else, something Blue said," Ben muttered, eyes on the screen. "About her family, about them…"

 

With that thought, Ben began to type into the search bar.

' _ Teens; 'M, E, J, C'; missing' _

 

With bated breath, he hit search.

 

The first few results didn't seem to hold much hope, only picking a few of the words or letters to work with.

 

Finally, though, on the third page of search results, they find a blog dedicated to gossip and slander, that very well may hold the answers they're looking for.

 

The title of the article Ben found is called  **'** **_FOUR INFLUENTIAL TEENS GO MISSING'_ ** with a subtitle of  **_'Missing, Kidnapped, or Sold for Debt? Only Time Will Tell'_ ** _.  _ The article was dated over 6 months ago, but it was their best shot so far.

 

Looking at his friends for their nods of encouragement, Ben began to read.

 

**_'Over a week ago, four of the most influential teens, all from rich, prosperous homes, have gone missing, all within days of each other. Although no families have confirmed nor denied this fact, outside sources beg to differ. The four teens, Mal Bertha, age 17; Evie Grimhelde, age 17; Jay Jafar, age 17; and Carlos DeVil, age 16 -- seem to have nothing in common except for the outstanding accomplishments of their families.'_ **

 

The article breaks here, to show pictures of the four teens - Mal, long blonde hair and green eyes, obviously a posed photo for a publicity stunt; Evie, black hair and blue eyes, posed in a modeling headshot, face stoic; Jay, long dark hair and dark eyes, tanned skin in all its glory as he stands outside a shop window; and Carlos, dark wild curls and bright brown eyes, posed in what is obviously a school photo.

 

"Its them," Lonnie whispers, her hand now on Ben's shoulder. "Keep reading."

 

Ben doesn't have to be told twice.

 

**_'Rumors spilling around the four teens disappearance are as follows: Mal's mother, one of the most successful women in the world, before slamming the door in our faces, claimed her daughter was 'doing what needed to be done to become her best'; Evie's mother, a once famous and beautiful model who time hasn't been too kind to, stated that her daughter was in Paris, and that's where she would stay; Jay's father, a well known store-chain owner, claimed he never had a son and told us to go the f(a word we won't use here) away; and Carlos' mother, the fashionista Cruella DeVil herself screamed at us, while reeking of alcohol and smoke, that her son was gone, and he was never coming back.'_ **

 

There was another break in the article to show an exaggerated cartoon of a door being slammed shut before it continued.

 

**_“Rumors state that there had been a few sightings of the missing teens once upon a time, in a rat-infested, trashed-out half of town where nothing but sleazeballs and rats can be seen, but there has been no confirmation if this has really been them or not. A source, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of being murdered for being a snitch, claims to have seen a girl with green eyes, face obscured by a hood, go into the rundown bar and yell at the bartender there. When we went to speak to him, he told us he was going to steal our teeth and sell them to the pawnshop next door and to get out of his face. So, wherever these teens are, we must bid ado to finding them, because missing teens or not, we like our teeth too much to let them sold to some seedy pawnshop owner.”_ **

 

**“** ... And that’s it. That’s the end of the article.” 

 

“So they just up and disappeared six months ago,” Lonnie said, glancing at the screen again, “and decided to become hoodlums?”

 

Ben was sitting back in his seat as his friends began to talk behind him. He scrolled back up the article to look at the four photos again. They looked like they were just normal kids - it was hard to believe that they were the same ones who had ransacked his house, had stolen from him only days before. He focused more on Carlos, hard to believe that the grinning kid in the photo was the same one that had pinned him to the wall, eyes dark and voice harsh as he whispered to him.

 

What  _ had _ happened to them? 

 

“We need to find them. We need to go out there and look for them.”

 

His friends all stopped talking and looked at him like he was crazy. And hey, maybe he was, but he didn’t care. He had to know where they were.

 

He had to bring them  _ home _

…

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

“You’re crazy.” Ben just gave Lonnie a strained smile, glancing at Jane and Doug, who were staring at him in the same way.

“So you’ve said. You do not have to come with me.”

“Oh like we’re going to let you go do something so _freaking_ _stupid_ alone. Honestly Ben.” Ben let Lonnie slap him on the back of the head before she reached for Jane. “Me and Jane will get ready upstairs. You two stay down here. Remember-“

“I know I know,” Ben said as Doug held up a large paper bag. “I think we can handle this part.”

…

The Isle Gang were living the life now. Evie had gotten her hot tub with bubbling jets; Carlos got a laptop with built in Wi-Fi; Jay got a whole set of weights and a pinball machine; and Mal had gotten a new art set that essentially became a miniature art studio in the corner of their hideout.

They had debated on getting an apartment, but no, they didn’t – they had found themselves enjoying their hideout, because it was  _ theirs _ .

They had been away from ‘Beast Manor’ and back into their home for a week now, and the four of them still had a good chunk of money from all of the stuff they had taken.

None of them talked about it though – they didn’t mention the time they had spent there, or about the Good Kids they had met. Besides, what could they say? That they had enjoyed themselves? Sure, they had. Or that they missed the people they had met? Why wouldn’t they, they had annoyed them and enjoyed their company. So what, it wasn’t like they had met many people they liked.

People were typically jerks to them, from their families to the people they had known growing up, to just people in general. So to find someone like Ben and his friends, someone who seemed to care so much in such a short period of time had shaken them to their very cores.

People were a waste of time - they just had to remember that.

…

Ben was glad Lonnie was such a smooth talker. He couldn’t lie for anything, but she was able to spin a story for his parents about why some stuff was missing that they didn’t even question it. They didn’t even ask or bat an eye when Lonnie said Ben was going to stay with her for a few days. It made him wonder how they could be so trusting when there was so much bad in the world.

But then again, wasn’t he just as trusting? Wasn’t he pretty much putting his whole life on the line to go find people who didn’t want to be found?

…

They were all crazy. They were all batshit crazy.

But that didn’t stop them from getting ready and sneaking out of Lonnie’s house and into the very broken part of the town where they would never go in the light of day.

…

Ben led the way as him and his friends walked through the cracked, broken streets where they were sure to find the Isle Gang. They were dressed to blend in as much as they could in ripped and distressed clothing, the girls with streaks of colors in their hair and Ben with a beanie, Doug in a large hooded sweatshirt. 

They did not look intimidating at all, but Lonnie could carry herself well, and Ben tried to mimic the way he had seen Snake and Cross hold themselves. Jane and Doug, both much more meek than their friends, stayed towards the back, shoulders held stiff as they followed them.

As they entered a dingy, barred pawn shop, Lonnie led the way, Ben at her side. They had made Jane stay just inside the door, Doug just outside the door for cover – both teens had pocket knives on them just in case, since they weren’t very intimidating at all.

Lonnie tried her best to scare the guy sitting behind the counter, trying to be as much of a badass as Dragon had seemed.

“I’ll give you one chance to tell me where I can find the Isle Gang. Start talking.” The guy scoffed and leaned back in his seat, eyeing her up like a perv.

“How about you let me get a good look at you dollface, and maybe let me take you to the backroom, and I’ll tell you anything you wanna know.” Ben snarled and stepped forward, now all anger - Lonnie was like a sister to him, and he hated hearing some fat, balding pig of a man talk to her this way. She held up her hand and pressed it into his chest to make him stop.

“I won’t ask again.”

“Me neither babycakes. I’ll just start taking and make your guard dog watch,” he said, laughing now. 

Lonnie moved her hand when she felt Ben shake next to her. He moved, reached over the counter and grabbed the man by the back of the neck, slamming his face into the counter. The guy yelled as Ben pulled him back up.

“She asked you a….  _ fucking _ , question,” he said, voice catching in his throat. He never said words like that, and he certainly never smashed someone's face into a cabinet before. He  didn’t know where that came from, but it seemed to do the trick. The guy now looked scared of them as he pulled away from Ben, his lip busted and bleeding down his chin.

“I-I d-don’t know where they stay. The pretty boy-” Ben grabbed him again, his hand tight against his throat and the guy began to sputter as Ben growled now.

“What about him?”

“H-h-he comes in sometimes. Eyes the spare comp-puter parts,” the guy got out, hand shakily pointing towards a pile of junk in the corner. “U-u-usually l-l-late at night. Right before closing.”

“When do you close?” Lonnie asked now, arms crossed across her chest and chin held high.

“One hour.”

“Then I guess we have an hour to kill, don’t we?”

…


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy guacamole, I didn't think I'd ever get this updated. Lots of stuff has been going on, blahblahblah, enjoy the update!

They were stationed out front of the pawn shop, Lonnie leaning against the far end, Ben on the other, Doug and Jane standing on the opposite side of the street. They tried to keep all corners open to view, so if Cross -  _ Carlos _ , that’s what his name was - came through, someone would see him, but hopefully inconspicuous enough that he wouldn’t notice them, at least not right away.

 

About twenty minutes later, they see a hooded figure in a black and red jacket slip around the corner, bypassing Doug and Jane without a glance, and into the -now empty- pawn shop. Ben leaned around the side, peering into the dirty glass window. He saw Cross look around before shrugging and beginning to paw through the electronics. Ben glanced at Lonnie, who nodded her head at him, making him nod back.

 

As quietly as he could, he slipped through the door.

 

Cross turned around instantly, eyes hard, before they widened almost comically when he saw who it was.

 

“Golden Boy?”

....

 

Ever since their stint in ‘Beast Manor’ - they still thought it was a ridiculous name - they never quite liked letting each other out of their sights more than necessary. So, Evie had followed Carlos at a far enough distance that he wouldn’t see her, but she could see him just fine. She stopped though, lips trembling when she realized who was stationed around the street.

 

How had they found them? How had they known where to look for them? 

 

Now terrified, Evie turned and fled back to their hideout. She needed to get Mal and Jay.

…

 

“What are you doing here? And what the hell are you wearing?” Carlos asked, eyes wide as he looked at Ben, who gave him a small smirk now. 

 

“You guys talk a big game, but kept slipping up little details. We just put them all together and found this disgusting little shop.”

 

“Hey Al tries to keep his shop decent enough for us riff-raff,” Carlos said, face going deadpan now as he glared at Ben. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

 

“Looking for you.” Carlos shoulders dropped and he shook his head. “We’re looking for all of you.”

 

“We…?” Carlos asked, looking up now. “You’re all here? Do you all look like that?” Ben chuckled and took a step closer to him.

 

“I came to bring you home…. Carlos.”

…

 

“Guys!” Evie yelled, running into the hideout where Jay and Mal were eating dinner. “We have a problem!”

 

“What? What’s wrong?” Mal asked, jumping up and grabbing her knife. 

 

“It’s the Good Kids. They found us.”

 

“Where’s Carlos?” Jay asked, jumping up now. Evie gave them a look, and the three teens rushed out of their hideout to go find their friend.

…

 

Carlos stumbled back, looking terrified of Ben now.

 

“Where the fuck did you hear that name?” Ben frowned but didn’t move any closer to the now shaking boy.

 

“There was an article online. About all of you. How you just… disappeared.” Carlos nodded and looked away, giving Ben the chance to move closer. “Come home with me Carlos. Please?” Carlos shook his head, even when Ben got to be standing in front of him. He only looked up when Ben placed a shaky hand on his cheek. “Carlos?”

 

Carlos stared at him as his eyes widened in fear.

…

 

Now, the Isle Gang weren’t too proud with what they were about to do, but it was better than getting caught.

 

If they caught, they would be sent home. If they were sent home…

 

No, they wouldn’t let that happen. 

 

They could see Carlos shaking as Ben approached him inside the pawn shop, the other kids standing outside, keeping an eye out for them. 

 

Evie reached into her bag, pulling out the small spray bottle she had. She looked at it, then back to Mal and Jay. They had always said they wouldn’t use this unless it came to their parents, but they had to get Carlos out of there.

 

“E, we have to,” Mal said, taking the bottle from her. “I’ll do it, and I’ll get Carlos.”

 

“What do we do with the Good Kids?”Jay asked. Mal thought about that and groaned.

 

“I suppose we can’t just leave them in the street can we?”

 

“They’d get killed,” Evie said, making Mal frown.

 

“Fuck. Fine. You guys spray ‘em, get them to the hideout. I’ve got Carlos and Golden Boy.” Evie and Jay nodded, breaking off from Mal. She slid behind one of the buildings and worked her around to the pawn shop. She stopped to peer around a corner, seeing Jane fall into Jay’s arms, eyes fluttering shut. Ignoring the pang of guilt in her chest, she hurried around to the side of the shop.

 

She could see Carlos shaking still as Ben continued to approach him. As quietly as she could, she entered the shop and snuck up behind them, pulling her knife from her pocket. She was about to make a move, when she heard him speak.

 

“Carlos?” 

 

Mal saw Carlos’ eyes widen in fear, maybe of her with her knife right behind Ben, or maybe because he called him by his name.

 

How did these idiots know his name? Did they know all of their names?

 

She met Carlos’ eyes, fear now in hers too. If they could find them, that meant other people could too.

 

With a quick movement, she hit Ben on the side of the head with the handle of her knife, making the tall boy fall to his feet, eyes growing hazy. He blinked up at Mal, who was standing by Carlos now.

 

“...Mal?” he asked, very confused - after holding them hostage and never causing them any physical pain, he didn’t understand why she did now; then she screamed in frustration as she hit him over the head again, making his vision go black, one thought in his head.

 

_ Maybe he shouldn’t have called them by their names…. _

…

**Author's Note:**

> Don't bash me too hard for not editing. I tried. I always miss some in the end.
> 
> Thanks for reading <3


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